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Two experiments were conducted in the greenhouse to study the interaction between alfalfa cultivars (Medicago sativa L. and M. falcata L.) and strains of Rhizobium meliloti Dang. for acetylene reduction rate, plant height and dry weights of shoot, root and whole plant. Fifteen alfalfa cultivars were inoculated with 10 strains of Rhizobium in Experiment I. Variance component analysis revealed that more than 30% of the total variance was due to alfalfa cultivars for acetylene reduction rate and 26% was accounted for by Rhizobium strains. More than 36% of the total variation was attributed to the interaction between alfalfa cultivars and Rhizobium strains for this character. Twenty-five host cultivars and 11 Rhizobium strains were included in Experiment II. The results also showed that the interaction of alfalfa cultivars and Rhizobium strains contributed the largest portion of the total variation for dry weights of shoot, root and whole plant and acetylene reduction rate. The results clearly demonstrated that the non-additive effects were the major component of variation for these characters associated with nitrogen fixation in alfalfa. Therefore, an effective way of improving nitrogen fixation in alfalfa is to select for a favourable combination of specific Rhizobium strains and alfalfa cultivars.

Genetic variation in disease resistance to vascular-streak dieback (Vsd) was studied in 54 cocoa hybrid progenies from Trinitario x Amazonian crosses. The disease was assessed by the number of Vsd infected branches per tree, total length of infected branches, average depth of disease penetration within branches and percentages of infected and dead plants. Highly significant differences due to general combining ability for both Trinitario female parents and Amazonian male parents were obtained for all characters. Percent of dead plants was the only character where specific combining ability was also important. Gene effects were predominantly additive for most characters, indicating that selection for progenies resistant to Vsd is effective in the present breeding population. There is strong evidence that resistance to Vsd is in the form of horizontal resistance. It is polygenic and largely inherited as additive genes. Therefore, breeding for resistance is an effective means of controlling Vsd in Papua New Guinea.

The parents and progenies of a 7 × 7 diallel cross of smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) were evaluated for the genetic variability of some morphological characters and their associations with yield, at four locations in Alberta in 1976 and 1977. Locations, years and their interactions were highly significant for all characters and were subsequently treated as eight environments. The partition of the genotypic variance into general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) showed that for all morphological characters, GCA was more important than SCA, indicating the importance of additive genetic effects. The genotype × environment (GE) interactions were highly significant. Variation accounted for by GCA was generally higher than the interaction effects of GCA and SCA with environments. Phenotypic and genotypic correlation coefficients revealed that both tiller density and height were significantly correlated with yields. Path coefficient analysis also showed that tiller density, followed by leaf area and tiller dry weight, exerted the greatest direct influence on yield. Selection for large leaf area and more and heavier tillers per unit area would simultaneously increase bromegrass productivity. Furthermore, selection should be based on multi-year and multi-location tests.

Ten alfalfa cultivars were used to study the effects of nodulation and variations in resistance to alfalfa sickness. The alfalfa seedlings were planted in sick soil with three treatment,,i.e.: pasteurized sick soil inoculated with Rhizobium ‘Nitragin’ which served as the control, the inoculated non-pasteurized sick soil and the non-inoculated non-pasteurized sick soil. None of the alfalfa cultivars were immune from the sickness. Cultivar ‘Anik’ fromMedicago falcata was among the most resistant cultivars. Three Phytophthora root rot resistant cultivars including ‘Agate’, ‘Apollo’ and ‘Ramsey’ were not resistant to the disease. Alfalfa inoculated with Rhizobium showed greatly improved seedling growth. Correlation coefficients showed that those alfalfa cultivars more resistant to alfalfa sickness produced more dry weight. Dry weight increase due to nodulation (82%) had more than compensated for the loss of dry weight due to alfalfa sickness (33%). The present study suggested that the poor growth of alfalfa on sick soil was attributed to both the soil borne pathogens and the poor nodulation of alfalfa, probably due to the absence of effective Rhizobium in sick soil. Highly significant differences were also obtained among olfalfa cultivars for plant dry weight in the inoculation treatment. Selection for effective Rhizobium strains and for alfalfa genotypes which are resistant to alfalfa sickness and are high in nitrogen fixation rates could improve alfalfa yield in sick soil.

Twelve alfalfa cultivars inoculated with an indigenous strain (RM9) ofRhizobium meliloti, were compared for their seedling morphological characters, and growth characters, including net assimilation rate (NAR), relative growth rate (RGR), leaf area ratio (LAR) and relative nitrogen assimilation rate (RN). Highly significant differences were obtained between cultivars for most characters.

Twenty-one progenies and the parents of a 7 × 7 half diallel cross of smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) were evaluated at four locations in Alberta in each of two years, for genetic variation and genetic by environment interactions in the expression of their yield potentials. Years, locations and their interactions were highly significant in the combined analysis of variance. Combining ability analysis revealed that general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) were both important in the expression of yield, including spring, fall and annual yield, whereas GCA was more important than SCA for yield per area. Although the genotype × environment interactions were all highly significant, variation accounted for by combining ability effects was generally higher than the interaction effects of GCA and SCA respectively, with environments. High average GCA effects for spring, fall and annual yield were demonstrated for the clones UA5, UA9 and B42. These together with the high average SCA effects suggested that the three clones could be included in a synthetic to develop high yielding cultivars. The results suggested that recurrent selections involving multi-location and multi-year testing seems necessary in breeding for high yielding bromegrass cultivars in Alberta.

Quantitative inheritance of resistance to Phytophthora pod rot (Ppr) was studied in cocoa hybrid progeny from 12 Trinitario x Amazonian crosses and their reciprocal crosses. The crossing scheme was similar to a factorial design. Disease was assessed by the number and percentage of infected pods on each tree. Highly significant differences due to general combining abilities (GCA) were obtained for all characters, except for the GCA of Trinitario on total pod production. Differences for specific combining ability (SCA) were not significant for all characters. There were no significant differences between reciprocal crosses. The Trinitario clone K82 provided the only source for the hybrid progenies of strong Ppr resistance to the hybrid progenies, while K20 provided moderate resistance. Other parental clones — KA2-101, KA5-201, KEE 2, KEE 5, and KEE 52 — produced progenies which were susceptible to Ppr. It is evident that resistance to Ppr in cocoa is inherited additively. Maternal and cytoplasmic effects were assumed to have no influence on inheritance of resistance. It is also concluded that resistance to Ppr of the kind shown by K82 is likely to be horizontal resistance. Breeding for high-yielding cultivars combined with Ppr resistance is the most effective way of controlling Ppr of cocoa on the crops of growers with small holdings in Papua New Guinea.